


Novocaine and Wisdom Teeth

by maybeIllegal



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-08
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 13:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2582981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybeIllegal/pseuds/maybeIllegal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat Vantas has all four of his wisdom teeth doing the mamba in his mouth, which is painful as stepping on legos while punching yourself repeatedly in the face with a pair of brass knuckles. Afraid of needles, Karkat dreads the thought of having to go to an oral surgeon, but luckily the Nutcracker Prince (one John Egbert) appears and convinces him to have an evaluation at the least. The surgeon told Karkat to return the next day for immediate extraction, which is where we begin our scene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Novocaine and Wisdom Teeth

Karkat has never been fond of needles, to say the least. To him, swords and harpoons are all well and good, but devices purely intended to take your blood or dilute it with other substances?! No thank you, have a swell time showing yourself out, don’t bother coming back around, good fucking _bye_.

That said, trips to the dentist were unavoidable when toothaches sprung into being. It wasn’t _his_ fault that strawberry Push Pops were the bomb, or that each time he brushed his teeth the bristles would be ruined!

Luckily, before the worst case of gingivitis recorded in troll history could break out, Karkat’s good friend Sir Gopher-Mouth Egbert was able to fly in and convince him to get it checked out. Apparently, having the monstrous buck teeth granted to all Harley-Egberts led to many, _many_ meetings with baffled orthodontists and fearful dental hygienists. John (the previously mentioned Gopher-Mouth) has moved Karkat to tears with his tales of teeth cleaning, braces, and oh the horror, _cavities_. (Who would’ve guessed that he has a terrible weakness for sour gummy worms?)

That leads us into the predicament of Karkat nervously pacing in the lobby of the oral surgeon, gingerly poking his swollen cheek. His wisdom teeth had begun to come in a week ago, except two had been impacted into his molars, and the other two were trying to bore their way out sideways like a pair of acrobats that had gotten into too much of Roxy’s stash before attempting a double-saluting journey into his cheek.

He looked back at John with absolute dread mixed in with some resentment for dragging him into this tastefully decorated torture building for a second time. First was for the evaluation, second was right fucking now, when his heart was going to explode from anxiety.

John caught the look and tilted his head curiously, with a trademark goofy grin. He knew perfectly well that Karkat couldn’t talk in tirades like normal, or even get a sentence in without tearing up from the tiny stalactites burrowing into his buccal muscles. So in lieu of speaking, Karkat just shook his head at the floor, sat down next to John, and began nervously tugging at loose threads of his old black sweater. He had been told to wear something he was completely comfortable in, and this was the first thing that came to mind.

“Hey, buddy, it’ll be alright.” John’s voice made it into Karkat’s ears, but whether or not those words were fully processed is up for debate.

Karkat tried responding with a doubtful grunt, but ended up groaning in pain instead. _Human God damn it_ , he wanted to say. _How can forcing me unconscious and cutting into my jaw end up alright?! I swear, the first needle I see will be going into the wall, and I will be leaping out of the fucking window to escape this place like the prince in_ Cinderella 3.

John got the message anyways and put his arm around Karkat’s hunched shoulders. Such a simple gesture, but it calmed him down a little bit.

“You know,” John began, “I used to be terrified of these places.”

Karkat peeked at John from the corner of his eye, curious.

“Back when I was about 11 years old, I had to have some surgery on my jaw from when I fell out of a tree the wrong way and broke a tooth in half, lengthwise. Well, I don’t suppose there is a _right_ way to fall out of a tree, but still, flat on your face is _soooooo_ not the best option. Anyways, we had to go here for an emergency surgery, but I was really afraid of being forced asleep.”

Karkat’s fingers had stopped fiddling with his sweater, his face fully turned to look at John. The dork was smiling a bit, remembering his fears as a youngster, and Karkat thought he looked disarmingly charming right then.

“But when I got there, the nurses were very kind to me, and the doctor even gave me a stuffed rabbit to hold onto while they operated! I was given a blanket to keep me more comfortable as I slept, so it was almost like going back to bed, despite the dull ache in my mouth.”

Karkat’s shoulders and back began to relax as he kept listening, forgetting his own toothache while John talked.

“When it came time to put the drip in my arm, I started to get nervous again, but one of the nurses told me to grip the bunny as tight as I could with one arm, while the other arm stayed as limp as possible. I barely noticed the needle, and then they told me to count down from 10. I made it to about 7 before going to sleep. So you see, there isn’t really that much to worry about!”

Karkat had tensed for a second at the word ‘needle’ but felt much better about the whole procedure. He gave a thumbs up to John, even attempting a small smile. John even reciprocated the gestures, which warmed Karkat’s heart.

“Mr. Vantas?” a nurse called out to the waiting room.

Karkat looked up with dread, standing up and raising a hand. The other hand had been caught by John and given a small squeeze, which gave him some confidence.

“I’ll see you soon,” John said with a quick smile that gave Karkat the energy to follow the nurse back to the operating room.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that the recent Homestuck updates have been hard on everyone, so let's step back into fierce denial, OK?
> 
> This fic was prompted by a friend of mine, Janine, who recently had her wisdom teeth removed and has been craving this type of JohnKat fanfiction. Hope your recovery goes well, BB!


End file.
